Dispensing and metering apparatus having a reciprocating trap chamber



G N I V .A Hm WB Tm NMH oAC P SPM EAR LGT BMG Mmm UWM TW EDR .NU E R A April 25, 1967 DISPENSING Filed May 20, 1965 INVENTOR: Z650@ United States Patent O 3,315,843 DISPENSING AND METERING APPARATUS HAV- ING A RECIPROCATING TRAP CHAMBER John E. Tumbleson, Kewanee, Ill. (2401 17th St., Rock Island, Ill. 61201) Filed May 20, 1965, Ser. No. 457,404 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-50) This invention relates to a dispensing and metering means for a container, carton or box that carries fiowable material.

More specifically, this invention is directed to la dispensing and metering means that is contained within a carton or box of flowable material and which means is made accessible and operable from the exterior of the carton to function in its designed capacity.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a means for a generally conventional carton or box which is completely nested within the confines of the carton and which is operable through at least one wall of the carton to move carton conned material out of the carton for discharge into a given selected exterior area.

Another object is to providel a metering means to displace a certain amount of the carton held material from within the walls of the carton to an exterior discharge zone outwardly of the carton all through one small carton Wall opening.

Another object is to provide a cooperative means associated with the dispensing device which will permit material flow under control out of the carton through the dispensing device when more than a metered amount of such material is wanted or required under various conditions of use. It is understood that the dispensing means may be manipulated any number of times to obtain 'a greater multiple discharge of material, but the device is flexible enough in operation to allow greater or continuous flow if properly regulated as will hereinafter be explained.

A still further object is to provide a dispensing or metering means which is readily yaccessible through a small tearable wall fiap in the carton that may be readily and easily opened. With this arrangement, it is unnecessary to open the entire carton top which is normally `sealed after the usual carton filling operation, unless the user chooses to open the carton top.

And another object is to provide a dispensing or metering arrangement that is rendered operable by the use of certain cooperative carton wall divisions and openings to produce simple coactive material drawer operated valving means to carry out the principles of the present inventive conce-pt and to develop the access structures for the necessary operation of the dispensing ,and metering means herein described and disclosed.

Other objects and advantages of this invention shall hereinafter appear in or become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred construction of the dispensing 'and metering means having reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carton incorporating the dispensing or metering means of the present invention, the view being taken generally from the bottom and right hand side of the carton;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary View of the bottom right side of the carton to show the tear flap that exposes the dispensing and metering means for use;

FIG. 3 is like FIG. 2 with the tear flap open and raised to expose the dispensing and metering means;

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view through the carton taken substantially along the plane of the line 4 4 in FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section through the carton as the latter appears when viewed along the line 5 5 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is like FIG. 5 except that the dispensing and metering means is shown in nested and in inoperative position within the carton in contrast to the operative dispensing and metering positions shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5 and FIG. 7 is a detailed view illustrating a modified construction.

FIG. 1 generally shows a conventional package for flowable material comprising a carton or box 1, top sealed at 2 through the usual closure fitaps after the carton filling operation and which carton provides the dispensing -or metering means at 3 in the bottom portion of the carton 1.

The dispensing or metering means 3 comprises a wall enclosed drawer 4 made from any suitable material such as cardboard or carton material, which drawer is confined between a false bottom or partition 5 and the carton bottom 6. Drawer 4 is normally wholly confined within the carton 1 and when carton material is to be dispensed or metered by a user, a iiap 7 in wall 8 can be opened along a suitable tear line 9, 10 and 11 to be folded or swung upwardly along a score line 12. This will expose the dispensing end of `the drawer 4 for movement outwardly of the wall 8 of carton 1.

The drawer 4 itself provides a dispensing and metering chamber 13 and a dead chamber 14 and the latter provides a finger clearance space during drawer actuation.

The drawer 4 is actuated into and out of wall 8 opening 15, left by liap 7, through a finger fitting hole 16 in the bottom wall 17 of the drawer at the dead chamber portion 14. Access to this -opening or hole 16 is had through an elongated slot 18 in the carton bottom 6. The length of slot 18 controls the maximum drawer motion by the finger engagement with the ends of this slot as is readily apparent.

Drawer 4 has three transverse walls to define compartments 13 and 14, namely, a back wall 19, an intermediate Wall 20 and a front or forward wall 21, all extending between the two side walls 22 and 23 of the drawer structure.

The valving means for the dispenser comprises a supply opening 24 in the false bottom or divider 5 and a pair of fore and aft staggered openings 25 and 26 provided in the top wall 27 and bottom wall 17 of the drawer 4. When the drawer 4 is confined within the carton 1, openings 24 and 25 are aligned as in FIG. 6 to allow material passage from the carton into chamber 413 of drawer 4. It should -be mentioned that when the carton receives its contents during filling, such material will also flow into the metering chamber 13 and -because of this feature, it is only the dead space 14 that occupies any room in the volumetric capacity of the carton 1 and this is considered more or less a negligible capacity of the Whole carton. Top wall 27 of drawer 4 shuts off material fiow through supply opening 24 when the drawer 4 is pushed out of the carton 1.

The carton is placed in use by tearing flap 7 free to swing upwardly and by inserting a finger into the drawer opening or hole `16 which occupies the left hand position in carton bottom slot 18 when the drawer 4 is retracted or confined within the carton and the moving of drawer 4 out of the carton opening 15 causing drawer held material to drop out of opening 26. Retracting the drawer will refill chamber 13 with a metered amount of material ready for dispensing as needed.

It is also possible to obtain a given selected discharge of material through drawer 4 by only partially displacing drawer 4 through opening 15 in wall 8 of the carton and by shaking the carton. In this position, valving means 24-25 will be only partially open and drawer opening 26 will also be partially uncovered to permit this kind of material discharge. This flow action may be controlled to some degree by providing suitable indicia means at `28 on the carton bottom 6 to show the position of the back Wall 19 of the drawer and consequently the relationship of the entire drawer in the chamber 29 of the carton bottom.

A modified drawer is shown in FIG. 7 having a discharge opening 30 at the top instead of a bottom opening such as 26 in the previously described form of the invention. With the top opening, the drawer can be moved to its outward discharge position with the material held in compartment 13 and then the carton or box can be tilted or inverted to discharge the metered contents from drawer 4.

The foregoing description has been directed to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention which are only disclosed by way of example and not by way of limitation. The breadth and scope of the invention is, therefore, not to be limited to such disclosures but only to the extent that the inventive concept of the dispensing and metering means for a flowable material carton shall be governed by the language in the following claimed subject matter.

What I claim is:

1. In a material dispensing and metering means for a owable material container comprising, in combination, a walled container having a false wall spaced from the container bottom to provide an open compartment across the container at its bottom, a wall enclosed hollow drawer slidable in said compartment between a fully conned retracted position therein to a partially extended projecting position to expose one end of the drawer outwardly of said container, said enclosed hollow drawer including a division wall intermediate its length to provide a dispensing chamber at the dispensing end of the drawer and a dead chamber end adjacent thereto, valve means to permit access of container material to the dispensing chamber of the drawer comprising an opening in said false wall and a material inlet opening in a wall at the dispensing chamber end of the drawer, said openings being normally aligned with the drawer located in retracted position wholly inside said container compartment and said openings being automatically closed when moved out of alignment by the false wall and the adjacent drawer wall respectively, and said dispensing chamber having a material discharge opening in another spaced wall portion of the drawer located in offset relation along the length of the drawer with respect to the material inlet opening in said drawer to permit material discharge from the exposed drawer end when the drawer is moved outwardly of the container compartment into a projected position, said material discharge opening of said drawer being normally closed by another wall portion of the container when the drawer is retracted, said drawer including a linger receiving means to bodily move the wall enclosed drawer between retracted and extended positions comprising an elongated opening in the container bottom to expose the dead chamber portion of said drawer, and a linger tting hole in the dead chamber portion of the drawer wall located adjacent said elongated opening to receive an operators linger from the exterior of said container wherewith to actuate the drawer back and forth as limited by the terminal ends of the elongated opening in the container bottom.

2. In the combination of claim 1 wherein said drawer has a portion thereof visible through the elongated opening in said container bottom, and material discharge gauging indicia means are provided on said container bottom at said elongated openin-g to designate at what position the drawer is located relative to the length of the container compartment housing said drawer.

3. In the combination of claim 1 wherein said material discharge opening in said drawer is positioned in a top wall portion thereof to provide for material discharge from said dispensing chamber only upon inversion of said material container.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 200,029 2/ 185 8 Cloyd 222-361 X 2,059,608 11/1936 Rochester 222-361 2,162,286 6/1939 Siefert 222--361 2,500,059 3/1950 Burnham 22'2--361 2,603,867 7/1952` Van Guilder 222--47 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,237,209 6/ 1960 France.

WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner, 

1. IN A MATERIAL DISPENSING AND METERING MEANS FOR A FLOWABLE MATERIAL CONTAINER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A WALLED CONTAINER HAVING A FALSE WALL SPACED FROM THE CONTAINER BOTTOM TO PROVIDE AN OPEN COMPARTMENT ACROSS THE CONTAINER AT ITS BOTTOM, A WALL ENCLOSED HOLLOW DRAWER SLIDABLE IN SAID COMPARTMENT BETWEEN A FULLY CONFINED RETRACTED POSITION THEREIN TO A PARTIALLY EXTENDED PROJECTING POSITION TO EXPOSE ONE END OF THE DRAWER OUTWARDLY OF SAID CONTAINER, SAID ENCLOSED HOLLOW DRAWER OUTWARDLY A DIVISION WALL INTERMEDIATE ITS LENGTH TO PROVIDE A DISPENSING CHAMBER AT THE DISPENSING END OF THE DRAWER AND A DEAD CHAMBER END ADJACENT THERETO, VALVE MEANS TO PERMIT ACCESS OF CONTAINER MATERIAL TO THE DISPENSING CHAMBER OF THE DRAWER COMPRISING AN OPENING IN SAID FALSE WALL AND A MATERIAL INLET OPENING IN A WALL AT THE DISPENSING CHAMBER END OF THE DRAWER, SAID OPENINGS BEING NORMALLY ALIGNED WITH THE DRAWER LOCATED IN RETRACTED POSITION WHOLLY INSIDE SAID CONTAINER COMPARTMENT AND SAID OPENINGS BEING AUTOMATICALLY CLOSED WHEN MOVED OUT OF ALIGNMENT BY THE FALSE WALL AND THE ADJACENT DRAWER WALL RESPECTIVELY, AND SAID DISPENSING CHAMBER HAVING A MATERIAL DISCHARGE OPENING IN ANOTHER SPACED WALL PORTION OF THE DRAWER LOCATED IN OFFSET RELATION ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE DRAWER WITH RESPECT TO THE MATERIAL INLET OPENING IN SAID DRAWER TO PERMIT MATERIAL DISCHARGE FROM THE EXPOSED DRAWER END WHEN THE DRAWER IS MOVED OUTWARDLY OF THE CONTAINER COMPARTMENT INTO A PROJECTED POSITION, SAID MATERIAL DISCHARGE OPENING OF SAID DRAWER BEING NORMALLY CLOSED BY ANOTHER WALL PORTION OF THE CONTAINER WHEN THE DRAWER IS RETRACTED, SAID DRAWER INCLUDING A FINGER RECEIVING MEANS TO BODILY MOVE THE WALL ENCLOSED DRAWER BETWEEN RETRACTED AND EXTENDED POSITIONS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED OPENING IN THE CONTAINER BOTTOM TO EXPOSE THE DEAD CHAMBER PORTION OF SAID DRAWER, AND A FINGER FITTING HOLE IN THE DEAD CHAMBER PORTION OF THE DRAWER WALL LOCATED ADJACENT SAID ELONGATED OPENING TO RECEIVE AN OPERATOR''S FINGER FROM THE EXTERIOR OF SAID CONTAINER WHERE WITH TO ACTUATE THE DRAWER BACK AND FORTH AS LIMITED BY THE TERMINAL ENDS OF THE ELONGATED OPENING IN THE CONTAINER BOTTOM. 